I'm sure you will get lots of good suggestions. The most popular programs for older elementary and middle school aged children are Lively Latin (online based with some history mixed in), Galore Park, and LfC. I started learning latin with my 11 year old this year and it has been a success. The program is open and go, lesson, worksheet, chant practice, weekly quiz. We used the activity book occasionally this year but my son hates those kinds of exercises (crossword puzzles, mazes, etc) so I didn't both with that for next year. We also enjoyed the Libellus (reader) that we started about 6 weeks ago. Simple translations to start the process of being able to read and translate a latin text. My younger son (7) did Song School Latin this year. Next year I plan to start him in LfCA slowly. I just ordered Minimus as another alternative for him to ease into it. Good luck with making your decision!

Thanks so much Julie and Jill! I am attracted to the idea of the cards and memory songs, especially for my upcoming 3rd grader who is ~dyslexic. He does pretty well with chants and songs and I like the idea of the visual and hands on reminder of the cards. My older son is going into the 6th grade and I'm not sure how he will like this (he has started rolling his eyes alot lately). He has Asperger's Syndrome and both boys have problems with writing (the physical act) so I have to do alot of accommodations. While the live class could be fun I don't know how well he could keep up in performance. I may get the cards and TM and just integrate that into the rest of our history. I'm struggling back and forth with VP/ToG/SL - I want to get more reading of literature (core and history type books) but I need something to help me schedule them.

I am a mom of an Aspie and a second son with different LD's. I've been looking at both ToG and MCTLA for next year. In fact, I just bought Unit 4 of year 1 on ToG to try with my boys starting after Easter break. I like alot of what I've seen but am unsure of how they will like it. As for the MCT, I'm strongly considering trying Grammar Island, etc..with my upcoming 3rd grader with ADHD and some dyslexia - but I don't think my concrete thinker Aspie would like MCT (based on what I've read about it). Just my .02! :)

Thanks Katrina! For some reason I don't have much success when I try to use the search function - must be doing something wrong. I will look over those links!

Can anyone walk me through how you do history and literature using Veritas Press? I've been trying to find a way to do history/bible/literature in a way that helps me make sure my boys are reading enough (plus read alouds) but takes some of the planning and prep work off my plate. I read their website but it isn't completley clear to me since I don't want to use their math, LA, etc...

:lurk5: no idea but I would be interested to hear more!

We started out the school year with Prima Latina for both my 5th and 2nd grader and I realized immediately this wasn't a fit for our family. I didn't like the southern accent on the cd (and we're southern!) and the way the lessons were arranged weren't to my liking either. I sold my PL (that's from Memoria Press) and after more research got Latin for Children A and Song School Latin (both from Classical Academic Press). The whole family has been very happy with this. My 5th grader and I are learning together using the dvd's (I bought the whole set used for about $30 - half price) and the Song School Latin book comes with a cd of the songs. For next year I got Minimus to start out for my younger (he has some LD's and needs to ease into LfC A I think) and am going to do LfC B with my older. I decided to skip the activity book for next year too - my oldest rolls his eyes and sighs over the crossword puzzles and mazes. I think they are cute and would have enjoyed them as a student but..different strokes! lol We are also doing the Libellus translation book and I like having that kind of practice but it could probably be had elsewhere. This part of the program is fairly inexpensive though. Lively Latin is also known as The Big Book of Lively Latin. My issues with it were that it is more expensive for getting it printed out if you like having a hard copy (and I do), your other option with LL is just having online access. That is problematic when teaching multiple children. My other concern with LL is that LL2 isn't completed yet, so though LL1 may take over a year to finish currently you are dealing with a partially completed 2nd book. I haven't tried Galore Park but have heard good things about it. Good luck with making your choices!

For my upcoming 3rd grader: WWE 2 FLL 3 Minimus (did SSL this year but I don't think he's ready for LfC A) MUS Gamma possibly ToG year 2 Upper Grammar/ SotW 2 (History/Bible) HWT Cursive Handwriting Copywork Considering Phonics Zoo Not sure on science Continuing therapies at home for moderate dyslexia and Sensory Integration

I've been going to the website for two days now and I can't get into the store to purchase anything. I looked at their forum and nowhere is there anything to say that their site is down. Can anyone else get in? I can get into Bookshelfcentral but I need to buy a Unit first. :P :bigear:

Thanks Tina for the awesome answers! Everyone has been very helpful and it's very much appreciated. If I can get their site to work I'm going to try to buy Unit 4 with the Map Aids and get this going. :D

One of the things that brought dh and I together was our similar background in rp games from our childhood, on our first date he sat recalling some fun times he spent with friends as a teenager gamemastering...and I found it attractive! Yeah, we are total nerds and geeks! I grew up with the video games of the time in my house and it's always been very social for us. We currently only use a Wii and both older boys have a DS (had XBox and Playstation 1 and 2, Nintendo 64 before that and who knows what I can't even remember anymore!). They aren't allowed to play games until after school is done (same rule for mom!) and I do limit their time. My time is naturally limited by having three kids, a big house to take care of and lots on my plate. I usually only do my MMO playing at night after they are in bed. I got "sucked" into WoW back shortly after my 4 year old was born, I couldn't leave the house anyway so it gave me something quasi-social to do. My husband, mother, brother and sis in law all play on the same server and are/have been in the same guild and raid together. I still raid 2-4 nights a week now...but have been strongly considering pulling back because I just need more sleep! LOL My 45 yr old husband works in the IT field (naturally) and has his regular gaming group that meets every Saturday night. All of the group are guys his age, married with kids. They do RP games, take turns being the DM, sometimes they do some tabletop games or miniatures and every few weeks they have Magic tournaments. He has also written some adventures and articles and been published several times by Steve Jackson Games. The difficult thing is that we are also Christians, I was/am a homebirther and into cloth diapering, we homeschool, etc...we have a very hard time finding families that we fit in with IRL. Oh well, at least I have all my guildies on line and a great forum to network with here! :lol:

Ok I've been looking and reading. Very frustrated that the Lampstandpress website was down alot and acting up yesterday! :P What I'm considering is buying Year 1 Unit 4 that we would plan to start in about two weeks. We are just wrapping up the Greeks in our current study (using SotW and HO2). I was planning to get it DE so I could access the info online and print what I want from there. Get the booklist and see what I can get at the library. Would this give me a good chance of telling if this will actually work for my family? How much time and what materials will I need to make this unit work? TIA!

nt

Don't I wish...I don't really know anyone in my part of town. With all the health, LD's, etc we are pretty insular. We attend church on the other side of town. :confused:

:iagree: My special needs kids have been flourishing with Math U See.

Hehe, my oldest is 11.5 years and has loved dinosaurs since his fifth birthday dinosaur extraganza - he moved onto dragons but recently started focusing back on dinosaurs because, as he explained it, "most people don't believe in dragons and it hurts his feelings when people say that they aren't real so he will try to focus more on dinosaurs around other people." He loves all reptiles. I won't have reptile pets in my house. I have hopes that maybe one day he will find his calling as a herpetologist. LOL

I'm a bit shocked but I'm having a hard time finding a preschool that doesn't do the VPK (voluntary pre-k). It seems that all of the christian preschools jumped on board the free wagon. I would so much prefer to go just two or three mornings a week, I don't think it's an option. :confused:

I was absolutely transfixed! :iagree:

:lurk5: I'm trying to find that information as well and the site seems to be up but I can't find what I'm looking for. Hopefully someone will have a link. :D

Eek I tried to post but the boards were down and lost it. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions so far. They are all very helpful. I'm very interested in ToG but I get lost on their website. Does Lampstand sell the books they suggest or do you order you Unit/Year package then get a list of the books you need and you can just purchase those peicemeal from wherever? The price seems awfully big for the schedule (though after having done it all year I do see the value) whereas with SL you get the IG and the books (obviously at a higher cost). Am I missing something or having a fibro fog day? lol :001_smile:

:iagree: We do narration through our WWE workbooks and my son gets frustrated enough with that. We are building up to it slowly. :D

This year has gone fairly well for my two new homeschoolers. Both boys have some learning disabilities that I felt weren't being well addressed or accomodated for at their school (and I was tired of arguing and fighting with the school) and I feel I have been reasonably successful in remediating handwriting, math and writing skills for both boys. Reviewing the year at this point I realized that where I am failing is getting the boys to read as much as they should and in the read aloud department. My oldest has Asperger's and is a very good reader but fights reading about anything other than his topic of choice (dragons/dinosaurs). My younger son is possibly dyslexic and just doesn't care for reading much. I have been taking them to the library most weeks and picking out books for them each to read. I have tried instituting quiet reading times in the afternoons. However because I haven't read some of these books it's hard to judge comprehension and get them to really get into the books. In an ideal world I would read each of these books alongside the boys and we would have deep conversations about them. In the real world I have three boys with developmental and learning problems, fibromyalgia myself and a disabled mom (fibro+, arthritis) living with me. I feel like I need a Sonlight type of program that schedules the readings and gives me synopses for the books, discussion questions, etc... I like everything I see about SL except I'm not sure how I could appropriately combine my boys into one core due to their ages and abilities. We did SotW 1/HO Ancients this year and I want to do the Medieval stage next year. I've looked at Core 2 and buying two sets of readers...one intermediate and one advanced - does that make sense? My older son is a really strong reader and looking at Core 6 (recommended by some on the SL forum to go with Core 2 he has read some of those books that we covered in Ancients/World History 1 this year). I like that ToG blends the ages together but I would like the convenience of being able to buy the books all in one place - library/buying and so forth hasn't worked great this year - tons of late fees and trying to keep track of when things are due back or not being able to get a book at all or when I need it have been issues alot. I did everything peicemeal this year. I would love to have something that integrates history, reading and our bible reading and studies as well, now it's handled separately with me just reading selections from the Children's Illustrated Bible and having open discussions. Advice please? :D

This year was my first homeschooling both my older boys, ages 11 and 7. My youngest turned 4 right before Christmas. My boys all have had developmental delays and some issues - oldest has Aspergers/ADD, middle has ADHD, had a hearing and speech delay and struggled with Asthma, youngest has a speech delay and was delayed in potty training but is mostly there now. Next fall my youngest would qualify for "free" voluntary pre-kindergarten at the center of my choice. There is a church preschool near my house that has openings. I just am trying to decide if it would be a good decision to put him in it or not. Pros: -a solid block of time (probably 2 hours after you subtract drop off and pick up) 5 mornings a week to do lessons with my older boys -he may really enjoy the "socialization", we don't currently have alot of other kids we see regularly -they may be able to help with his language issues better than I can? (we currently are receiving no assistance or services) Cons: -Having to drive him back and forth -Being at the mercy of their schedule -Missing out on being his pre-K teacher -He's very strong-willed and may really fight me about going In addition to my older son's health and learning issues I've finally been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. This diagnosis is good because now I have been given some medication which is starting to help. Due to fatigue and pain the last year has been a struggle which meant we did school, housework and shopping and that was all other than occasional trips to the park and weekly library trips. I really desire to give my sons the best education and life experience I can. Opinions on the non-homeschool pre-K? (xpost from Curriculum board)

:lurk5: I will crosspost on the General board, I typically avoid it but really need some advice.

This year was my first homeschooling both my older boys, ages 11 and 7. My youngest turned 4 right before Christmas. My boys all have had developmental delays and some issues - oldest has Aspergers/ADD, middle has ADHD, had a hearing and speech delay and struggled with Asthma, youngest has a speech delay and was delayed in potty training but is mostly there now. Next fall my youngest would qualify for "free" voluntary pre-kindergarten at the center of my choice. There is a church preschool near my house that has openings. I just am trying to decide if it would be a good decision to put him in it or not. Pros: -a solid block of time (probably 2 hours after you subtract drop off and pick up) 5 mornings a week to do lessons with my older boys -he may really enjoy the "socialization", we don't currently have alot of other kids we see regularly -they may be able to help with his language issues better than I can? (we currently are receiving no assistance or services) Cons: -Having to drive him back and forth -Being at the mercy of their schedule -Missing out on being his pre-K teacher -He's very strong-willed and may really fight me about going In addition to my older son's health and learning issues I've finally been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. This diagnosis is good because now I have been given some medication which is starting to help. Due to fatigue and pain the last year has been a struggle which meant we did school, housework and shopping and that was all other than occasional trips to the park and weekly library trips. I really desire to give my sons the best education and life experience I can. Opinions on the non-homeschool pre-K?